


A Heart for Every Plea

by nanda (nandamai)



Category: Latter Days (2003)
Genre: And also fluff, Fluff, M/M, More Fluff, Schmoop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-29
Updated: 2013-04-29
Packaged: 2017-12-09 23:09:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/779030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nandamai/pseuds/nanda
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Aaron wakes up on the first day to a note on the other pillow."</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Heart for Every Plea

**Author's Note:**

> Possibly the giddiest, schmoopiest, sappiest fluff you have ever read. Run away now while you still can.

Aaron wakes up on the first day to a note on the other pillow -- taped to the other pillow, which he thinks is adorable until he remembers that he's thinking about a guy. But it's Christian, who loves him, so maybe it's okay? Anyway, he's never seen Christian's writing before, and he thinks that's adorable, too, so maybe he's just hopeless.

 _Aaron,_ it says,  
 _Gone to my volunteer gig, back around 2. Please please please call when you wake up? 310-555-7163. Take whatever you need. Anything, I mean it._  
C.  


Aaron can picture him writing it, grinning, wanting to wake Aaron up but letting him sleep instead. And now he's back to adorable.

He gets up, remembers where the bathroom is, notices that when Christian took his clothes off -- he'd sworn Aaron would be asleep halfway into the foreplay, and he was right -- he left Aaron with his t-shirt and boxers, instinctively knowing what level of nudity Aaron was comfortable with. Aaron had worn his garments for a long time.

Christian's new place is a lot smaller than the old one. There's just the single bedroom, with exactly enough space for a bed and about 18 inches of floor space on three sides. Next door is a tiny bathroom with a shower, sink and toilet practically on top of each other. The kitchen is one corner of the living room, and the front door is right next to the refrigerator. 

There are no pictures on the walls, nothing; they're just plain, eggshell white. Aaron wonders if Christian thinks of this as a temporary move, or if he hasn't had the time to decorate, or if he just doesn't care. The old apartment was so bright, so Christian -- and Julie, he supposes -- and a tiny part of Aaron hopes that Christian left it behind because of him. Christian thought he was _dead_. It'll take Aaron a long time to wrap his brain around that. 

On the fridge, there's a shift schedule with a list of phone numbers, a few business cards, a signed photo of Julie, and a drawing of Aaron's parents' phone number. That last one is a little weird, and he doesn't remember it from last night. He'll have to ask Christian about it later.

He finds a glass and pours himself some orange juice, then finds the phone.

Christian picks up on the first ring. "Hey," he says quietly.

"Hi. Is this a bad time?"

"No, I'm just with someone. A client," he adds. "He knows it's you and he wants to hear every word."

A voice in the background says, "Damn right I do."

Aaron smiles. "You told him about me?"

"Of course I did. Did you just get up? Did you sleep okay?"

"Yeah, it was great. Is there a laundry room? I didn't exactly bring a lot of stuff."

"Just wear mine. Seriously, anything you need. Clothes, toothbrush --"

"Christian, your clothes are too small for _you_."

Christian barks out a laugh. "Good point. You'd look cute in them, though. Yeah, it's at the end of the building, to the right. You need a key -- it's in the drawer by the stove, on a penis keychain."

"Of course it's on a penis keychain," Aaron says, walking over and sifting through a wide assortment of stuff. It's that kind of drawer. "Yeah, got it, thanks."

"We can go shopping tomorrow. It's my day off."

Wincing, Aaron says, "I don't have a lot of money, either."

"Aaron, I can afford to buy you a few shirts and a pair of pants."

"Yeah, okay," Aaron says. It feels like buying each other clothes should maybe come a bit later in a relationship. He promises himself he'll pay Christian back as soon as he can.

"Did you find everything else?"

"Haven't really looked yet. I'll be fine, Christian. So, two, you said?"

"Maybe a little earlier, if I can get away. This guy is a pain in the ass."

"At least you still have an ass, Markelli," the mystery voice says. 

Aaron wonders what that means. "Is he really that bad?"

"No, no, I'm joking. He's a friend. You'll like him."

Aaron glows a little at the thought of meeting Christian's friends, of being a part of his life, of making a life together. Maybe in a bigger apartment. "You'd better get back to him, then," he says.

"Yeah. See you soon, okay?"

"Okay."

"Hey," Christian says, then pauses. Aaron's about to say something when Christian adds, "I'm really glad you're here."

"Me too," Aaron says. And after a moment, "I love you."

He can practically hear Christian beaming over the phone. It's the first time Aaron's said it, though he hopes he made it clear before, in other ways.

"I love you, too," Christian says. "Bye."

"Bye."

After that, Aaron goes to take a shower but ends up back in bed instead. He stretches out, covers his face with Christian's pillow and breathes everything in. He'd been devastated when that other guy had answered the door, so hopeless when he went to the restaurant, but this is so much better than he could have hoped for, better than any of the dreams he had in that awful place. It's been less than twenty-four hours, and even now he knows not every conversation will go that well. But Christian still wants him, Christian still loves him, Christian seems happy to have him in his space and to welcome him into his life. 

He rolls over and wraps himself around the pillow, taped note and all, and says a prayer, thanking God for bringing them back together, for introducing Aaron to Christian's boss all those months ago, for showing him Julie's video that one night. People get confused about God, he thinks. People screw it all up; maybe nobody ever gets it exactly right. But God, He really knows what He's doing.


End file.
